NEWS & BLOG.

In light of the comments made by David Alexander of DJ Alexander in the 06 December issue of The Scotsman, the Association of Scotland’s Self-Caterers has issued the following statement.

ASSC Chief Executive, Fiona Campbell, said:

“It is deeply regrettable that an individual who commands as much respect in the Edinburgh property market as David Alexander felt that it was appropriate to make such woefully insubstantial, inappropriate, and inflammatory remarks in a national newspaper.

“In addition to creating a wholly false impression of the history of Edinburgh, Mr Alexander used his platform to run down the full check-list of false claims and unsubstantiated innuendo that are made against professional short-term rental operators on a near daily basis.

“He claims that our sector, which is worth £723million to Scotland each year, is responsible for everything from a lack of housing, to anti-social behaviour, and health and safety violations – all of which is completely untrue.

“It would have been sporting to see some figures or robust examples from Mr Alexander to support his case against our industry but it seems that he did not have any to hand.

“The ASSC, by contrast, has published the Far More Than Just Houses report; much of which addresses the points Mr Alexander makes in his piece.

“I would be delighted to send him a copy.

“This ground-breaking piece of research found no correlation between the traditional short-term rental sector and the myriad social ills that Mr Alexander is attempting to pin on us.

“Rather than any attempt to say anything definitive or insightful about the Edinburgh property market – something any of his readers will know he is capable of doing – Mr Alexander has wasted this column on a partisan attempt to promote his narrow self-interest at the expense of the reputations of the hardworking individuals who make the Edinburgh short-term rental market the vibrant success story it is today.

“The ASSC hopes that the quality of the conversation around short-term rentals will improve in future and stands ready to help achieve this.”